This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
On July 29, 2019, Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo announced that county government suppliers and contractors would receive payments amounting to Sh51.2 billion after she cleared part of their pending bill claims.
According to Odhiambo, she had written to the counties asking them to process the payments, stating, 'We have already written to the counties asking them to pay all eligible pending bills in this financial year.'
A recent audit of pending bills showed that only those amounting to Sh51.2 billion out of the Sh88.9 billion outstanding by June 2018 were eligible for payment.
The Treasury had requested Auditor-General Edward Ouko to carry out special audits of the pending bills, which had reportedly ballooned to Sh108 billion as at June 2018.
Counties presented to Ouko pending bills amounting to Sh88.9 billion, highlighting a difference of Sh19 billion from what they had requested for payment authorisation by the Controller of Budget.
As a result of the special audit, auditors established that pending bills amounting to Sh37.7 billion were ineligible for payment because they lacked relevant documentation or evidence of work done was not made available.
Furthermore, the special audit had saved taxpayers some Sh57.1 billion loss from irregular pending bill payments.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had directed State ministries, departments, and agencies to settle all pending bills without audit queries by the end of the financial year ended June 30.
Following the audit, Nairobi county government's pending bill as at June 2018 stood at Sh11 billion, a Sh41 billion drop from the initial figure of Sh64 billion.
